Nightfall

Her cherry-red lips were now pale. She seemed exhausted, but no one would have thought she was weak. Just like her sword that lay motionless at her side, her actions had already said a thousand words.

The previous short battle had shocked everyone. They stared at the blood-red Sacred Sedan of Judgement. Silence stretched over Peach Mountain.

Ye Hongyu’s swordsmanship in battle was very different from the elegant Taoist style that the people were expecting. It was cold and ruthless. Her performance in this battle had been chilling.

Among the Divine Priests of the South Sea, the willowy man’s skills were second only to those of Zhao Nanhai. The West-Hill Divine Skill he demonstrated in battle was intricate and mysterious. Even if he was unable to rival the legendary Wei Guangming, he was definitely better than Ye Hongyu.

The willowy man had already raised his finger when Ye Hongyu’s blade pierced the middle-aged man’s heart. If she had ignored his move or tried to quickly regain her form after wounding the man, she would have been forced into a desperate situation. If anyone else had been in that precarious position, they would undoubtedly have made one of those two choices.

Instead, she did the unthinkable. In a flash, she slaughtered the middle-aged man, then used his corpse to shield against the force of the willowy man’s finger, and finally sliced off his finger.

Her ruthlessness and resolute self-confidence in that instant made the blood of those watching run cold. They could not believe that a person with her status would take such risks to kill.

Only then did they remember that before she held the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade, she had been known as the skilled Tao Fanatic. She had used the same brusque, ruthless methods to kill countless others.

The outcome of the battle had come as a surprise to many.

Everyone knew that Ye Hongyu was a talented cultivator and had formidable strength. However, cultivation takes years of disciplined training, and she was simply too young. When she became the Great Divine Priest of Judgement, the cultivators were doubtful. If it was not for the previous Great Divine Priest of Judgement’s wound at the hands of Wei Guangming, they felt that such a young girl could never have killed the Priest, and she would never have assumed the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade.

For this reason, when the middle-aged man, the fourth Great Divine Priest of the South Sea, began to fight, those watching the battle were not optimistic about Ye Hongyu’s fate. When she managed to rapidly break out of the entrapment with a thousand swipes of her blade, they started to change their minds. Still, when the willowy man started lifted his finger, they felt that she would lose for sure.

However, she did not lose. Even when two of the South Sea’s strongest fighters worked together, she emerged with a clean victory, putting her iron will and ruthlessness on show. After this battle, nobody else dared to question her position, much less disrespect her.

Xiaoyu, the young girl from the South Sea, had been watching. Her face was pale, and an uncomfortable queasiness settled in her stomach. During the ferocious battle, she had noticed that Ye Hongyu wore an expression of calm indifference. It sent a chill racing down her spine.

Ye Hongyu did not put the girl in her sights, only the girl’s father. She took no notice of the proud girl. Just moments before, this would have made the girl feel humiliated and angry. Right now, she only felt relieved.

She, too, had a talent for cultivation. At the age of seventeen, she had attained the Knowing Destiny State – a rare occurrence amongst cultivators. Yet, since she had always lived in the faraway wildernesses of the South Sea, she remained unknown. Whenever she thought about the Central Plains’ famed Three Fanatics, she only felt contempt. To her, they were just three lucky idiots.

In her little town on the South Sea, what she wanted to do most in the world was to defeat the Three Fanatics and prove to the world that she and her brother were the real geniuses of cultivation.

Hence, when she passed through Mogan Mountain, she sought out the Calligraphy Fanatic. Here, on Peach Mountain, she had intended to challenge Ye Hongyu, the Tao Fanatic.

However, Ye Hongyu did not make any moves against her. She had massacred four of her masters and chopped off the finger of a swordsman she respected.

Since the Tao Fanatic was so strong, how could the Calligraphy Fanatic be weak? Her face drew pale as she looked at the sedan. The world of cultivation in the Central Plains is scary. No warrior stays alive long enough to enjoy their fame.

The end of the day’s battle surprised all but two people; two people who knew Ye Hongyu well.

Strangely, the two people who knew West-Hill’s Great Divine Priest of Judgement well were two scholars of the Academy.

Spectating the battle, Chen Pipi lamented. He thought, these South Sea people must have a death wish, challenging that crazy woman. Meanwhile, Ning Que stood amongst the crowd, smiling and not saying a word.

Chen Pipi only knew that Ye Hongyu was ruthless, crazy, and unbelievably strong. Ning Que knew her strengths also lay elsewhere. It was exactly as Ye Hongyu had told him – only she and him truly knew war. Both of them had come close to death countless times. She knew that he was shamelessly ruthless, and he knew that her body held cold threads of gold. They were kindred spirits.

The audience of the battle included not only the people, but also a sword that was quietly suspended above the altar. This sword, the strongest in the world, belonged to Liu Bai. Since the man himself was not here, the crowd paid no attention to the blade. When Ye Hongyu allowed the middle-aged man to come within a meter of herself, then pierced his heart, nobody saw the sword move slightly, as if to nod in approval. The one-meter strike was, in fact, a secret technique of the Sword Garret, and Ye Hongyu had done it well.

“This Great Divine Priest is truly the youngest we have seen in a thousand years.” Zhao Nanhai regarded the blood-red sacred sedan coolly. Rubbing his hands together with gusto, he proclaimed, “The Descendant of Light Zhao Nanhai challenges you to a duel.”

Zhao Nanhai was the strongest warrior in the South Sea. Although he did not gain the upper hand in the Psyche battle against the Golden Tribe’s national master earlier, his real strength lay in using the West-Hill Divine Skill. He had stood as steady as Peach Mountain against the warriors of the Golden Tribe. That gave one an idea of his fearsome strength.

In terms of seniority, he belonged to the same generation as the Hierarch and thus was Ye Hongyu’s senior uncle. This gave him the right to speak informally to her. Nevertheless, he addressed her by her full title. This showed that he recognized her qualifications to occupy her position.

It also showed that he respected her and wished to challenge her as equals.

After six centuries, the South Sea had finally returned to the Divine Halls of West-Hill. They harbored high hopes and resolute wills, and they were sure that they would be able to defeat West-Hill with a force which would shake Peach Mountain to its core. To their knowledge, the Divine Halls of West-Hill had suffered heavy losses after the battle with the Academy. The Hierarch was nearing death’s door and there remained only one warrior who could hope to defend the temple – the Tao Fanatic, Ye Hongyu.

When they arrived, they found to their surprise that the Hierarch, rumored to be bordering on death, had made a full recovery and the young Great Divine Priest of Judgement had single-handedly crushed the mighty force of the South Sea!

Zhao Nanhai could not allow events to continue developing in West-Hill’s favor. If he failed, not only would the South Sea fail to gain control of Peach Mountain, he would also lose hope of regaining the Divine Hall of Light. Thus, he challenged Ye Hongyu without hesitation.

This young Great Divine Priest of Judgement of West Hill was indeed very strong, but he was confident that he would be able to defeat her.

In her sacred sedan, Ye Hongyu’s eyes were shut. It was almost as if Zhao Nanhai’s words had not reached her.

In truth, she was intrigued by Zhao Nanhai’s West-Hill Divine Skill and wanted to challenge him. However, she did not wish to challenge him anymore as she was exhausted. She anticipated that the long day would bring more events. The people from the Academy had not yet arrived, and she did not wish to expend any more Qi.

The inheritance of the title of the Great Divine Priest of Justice was determined through killing and bloodshed, but this did not mean that the holder of the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade would have to endure endless challenges. If they did not wish to accept the challenge, the challenger would then have to carve out their own bloody path to the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade.

She raised her right hand. The priests and black-robed deacons outside the Divine Sedan began to assemble. From afar came the rumble of hooves. Two thousand Papal Cavalrymen grouped together, ready to attack in a show of the Peach Mountain’s force.

She was the current Great Divine Priest of Judgement. She would only fight if she wanted to. If Zhao Nanhai was not satisfied with that, he would first have to slaughter his way through everyone from the Divine Hall of Judgement. Just like she said before, her and Ning Que were oddities among cultivators – when necessary, neither of them would hesitate to deploy everyone under their command against a single enemy.

The Divine Hall of Judgement readied itself to crush the South Sea. Previously, the South Sea forces had been able to enter Peach Mountain freely because they both followed the Taoist tradition. Now that the Divine Priest of Judgement had raised her hand as a signal, why would anyone care about tradition?

Hearing the hooves assembling in the distance, Ye Hongyu thought, do you think you are Jun Mo? The two thousand soldiers on horseback will trample you to death.

When the South Sea fighters saw the silhouettes of the two thousand iron horses in the distance, they understood the strength of Peach Mountain. The fear showed on their faces.

They had wandered in the South Sea for hundreds of years, leading hard and cruel lives. They had seen many things, but never in their wildest dreams would they have thought that Ye Hongyu would resort to such a dishonorable method to deal with them.

“It has been six hundred years. Must the sects massacre each other again?”

Zhao Nanhai’s voice was heavy. His eyes were fixed on Ye Hongyu, who was seated in the blood-colored Sacred Sedan.

Today, the Divine Halls of West-Hill held a Rite of Light. Only the Hierarch knew the secret reason behind this. Everyone else thought it was a ploy against the Academy. Nobody could have foreseen that the descendants of the South Sea would appear at Peach Mountain and cause such a stir.

Although the Divine Hall of Judgement displayed an extremely powerful force in this fight, they did not dare to underestimate the South Sea people who had cultivated through many years of hardship. If they were to crush the South Sea, it would come at a heavy cost. This would impact their efforts against the Academy.

Even at this moment, when the Rite of Light was already underway and Chen Pipi’s face was bathed in the radiant light, no one from the Academy appeared. Everyone believed that they would – it was just a matter of time.

For this reason, the Divine Halls of West-Hill had no desire to wage a battle against the South Sea at this time. The head of the Revelation Institute called out to Zhao Nanhai coldly. “The Great Divine Priest of the South Sea’s tablet is still enclaved within the halls of the Divine Hall of Light. The Divine Halls of West-Hill has acknowledged you as orthodox Taoists and thus have allowed you to enter the mountain. If you repay us by attempting to disrupt the Rite of Light, do not expect the Divine Halls to show you mercy!”

“The Great Divine Priest of Revelation has already returned to the Divine Kingdom. Up till today, there are still no inheritors. Who dares to dictate the will of the heavens?”

Zhao Nanhai ignored him. He turned and shouted, “Commoners might not know, but who in the Divine Halls of West-Hill does not know that Zhishou Abbey is Taoism’s gateway to heaven? The person on the altar is our master’s only descendant but you use him as a sacrifice. Are you not afraid of heaven’s wrath?”

The altar was deathly quiet. Many already knew about Chen Pipi’s identity but no one dared to say it. For many of them, it was already a life-and-death struggle to reach the main gates. Yet, the people from the South Sea had managed to intrude all the way to the altar. The faces of the older priests wore complicated expressions.

The head of the Revelation Institute felt this sudden change of atmosphere. He knew that he could not allow this person to continue talking, otherwise nobody would know what the people in the Divine Halls would do.

He roared, “He is indeed the master’s heir, but he has betrayed us by entering the second level of the Academy. What right does he have to live?”

Only when she heard this did Xiao Yu realize that the Divine Halls of West-Hill truly intended to kill Chen Pipi. It was not entirely a trap for the Academy. She barked out, “Who dares to kill my man?”

Chen Pipi had never felt much affinity to his mother’s South Sea tribe, or for Ye Hongyu. He had simply been enjoying the show. The Sacred Guard of West-Hill assigned to him could not stand his chuckling and sought to quiet him down. Since he could not actually go and get some melon seeds for him to eat, the guard poured him a bowl of water instead.

At this point, Chen Pipi was drinking his water and enjoying the juicy show being put up by those of West Hill and South Sea. He thought, it’s not all bad, at least I get to enjoy such entertainment before I die.

He was relishing in that thought when he suddenly heard the shrill cry from the young South Sea girl. Man? Whose man? I’m your man?

With a spluttering cough, he spat out a mouthful of water. It landed on the guard, making his clothes wet.

He stared openly at the girl in front of the altar, mouth agape. It’s alright if you want to confess, but right now? And like this? I was just watching the show, how did I suddenly become the male lead?

…